Restructuring of BBNFP

19 Dec 2005 14:45

Berkeley Berry Birch PLC19 December 2005 Restructuring of Berry Birch and Noble Financial Planning The Board of Berkeley Berry Birch plc ('BBB' or the 'Company') has todayannounced that it intends to combine the activities of its two nationalindependent financial advisory businesses, Berry Birch and Noble FinancialPlanning Limited, ('BBNFP') and Berry Birch and Noble Financial Planning(Weston) Limited, ('Weston'). BBB has been trading at a loss during the last 18 months which has contributedto regulatory capital shortfalls in BBNFP, Weston, and Berkeley IndependentAdvisers Limited ('BIA'). This loss has largely been a result of the FSAinvestigations, and poor performance in some of these businesses. The Board has reviewed the activities of BBNFP and Weston, and is taking actionnow to deal with these issues. After discussions with the FSA, the Board hasdecided that, to reduce our regulatory capital requirements in the future and toimprove performance, the business of BBNFP will be combined with Weston. The combined business will join BIA, the Group's existing financial servicesnetwork, early next year once the Company's planned fundraising is completed.These changes will swiftly build a more compliant, and customer focused IFAbusiness. The Board has decided that this combined business will be based on a nationalself-employed IFA model, like our most successful competitors. In past years,Weston has shown that this approach can be profitable. Performance in BBNFP,where advisers are employed by the business, has been particularly disappointingand it has not been possible to make the business profitable. The Group's other companies, BIA, Berkeley Birch and Noble Insurance BrokersLimited ('BBNIB'), Berkeley Birch and Noble Estate Planning Limited ('BBNEP'),,Group Support Services Limited ('GSS') and MacRobins Limited are not affected bythis restructuring. Enquiries: BBB plcJonathan Hall - 02476 232010 Arden PartnersAndrew Raca, Director, Corporate Finance - 0121 423 8941 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange